Presence

To be present is to arrive as one is and open up to the other. At this instant, as I arrive here, God is present waiting for me. God always arrives before me, desiring to connect with me
even more than my most intimate friend. I take a moment and greet my loving God.

Scripture

Hosea 11:3-4

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim [Israel] to walk;
I took them up in my arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.
I bent down to them and fed them.

Reflection

In these early days of Advent, we can feel unsure about our direction, uneasy about the silence of the season, weighted down with the memory of past failures, broken resolutions, and gnawing regrets.  We can struggle to believe that God is with us. We can struggle to believe in his forgiveness and love. 

This is a good time to remind ourselves of the God who is so frequently described in the Old Testament in terms of a mothering creator rather than a judgemental father. Time and again, God’s creative actions are referred to in terms of childbearing and delivery. In Deuteronomy 32:18 God reproaches Israel in the words “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” In Isaiah 46:3, God says: “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he; even when you turn grey I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

In Jeremiah 31: 3,20 come the deeply moving words: “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he the child in whom I delight? As often as I speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore, I am deeply moved for him; I will surely have mercy on him”, says the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, we are all Ephraim. Give to each of us the grace to hear these words spoken by you with fervent love in our inmost soul. Then, we will surely trust that your gentle hands will guide us through this Advent

Amen

Glory to you, Father, source of all being,

to you, Jesus, Word made flesh,

to you Holy Spirit, Comforter,

as it was before time began,

is now and shall be into the future.

Amen.